So Cruel
by LabyLoverLaurie
Summary: It takes Sarah two years, and harsh words from her friends, to realize the truth. And the fact that it may be too late. **A/N: Usually I don't post unless something is complete, but I needed to see if there was enough interest to continue. Please R/R.**
1. Prologue

Disclaimers: I don't own the Labyrinth, that should be obvious. I don't own whatever original  
characters pop up, either. They own me. The plots belong to those characters. I'm just a puppet.  
  
Rating: I'll be safe and say PG-13, because I don't know where it's going. It's not like ratings  
ever stop people anyway.  
  
A/N: I don't know where this is going. Usually I don't post something until it's complete, but I  
just wanted to get this out of my system, and get opinions on whether or not there is interest in  
the story. I don't write stories, they are manifested inside me and write themselves.  
  
  
~*~  
So Cruel  
~*~  
  
Prologue  
  
She was crying. The most wonderful party of her short life was just over, and she was  
bawling like an infant. Like her little brother. She tried to muffle her sobs in her pillow, but they  
didn't escape the notice of the dwarf who was tidying up.  
  
"Wha's the matter, missy? Naw, doan cry, Sarah. Nothin' to be sad about! Why you's cryin'?"  
  
She caught her breath, and looked at her friend, eyes red and puffy. "I- I don't know,  
Hoggle. I won. I won!" She was nearly screaming, and the dwarf rushed to silence her.  
  
"Cor, missy, you'll wake you's parents." She was not paying attention, though. She was looking  
inside herself, trying to understand. Then she spoke, more to herself than to him.  
  
"So why does it feel like I lost?"  
  
~*~ 


	2. The Beginning

Two years. Two long years, of tears and dreams, broken hopes and unspoken wishes. Her  
parents wondered if she would ever grow out of that phase. They didn't see an end in sight.  
Sarah sat at her vanity, staring at the person she'd become. She was eighteen, yet still she  
dwelled on the past, on her adventure in the labyrinth. Feeling the need for companionship, she  
called on one of her friends.  
  
"Hoggle? Hoggle, I need you." She waited a moment, and the dwarf appeared in the mirror. He  
looked angry, something Sarah was not familiar with.  
  
"Cor! What d'ye want this time, eh?" Sarah just stared at him, open-mouthed. "Stop gaping  
a'ready! You's think I wanted to see you's teeth. Now, what d'ye want?"  
  
"H- Hoggle? What's the matter?" Sarah didn't understand.  
  
"Yer what's the matter! Fer two years I's sat here and listen to ya. I's tired of it! It doan do me no  
good. It's been two years, Sarah. And now, now it's too late an' all yer fault." He began to  
mumble. "Blasted mortals. Yer a fool, Sarah! Seein' as 'ow there's nothin' ye can do now, I's  
gonna tell ya what ya been needin' ta hear! Ye're blind, missy. Two years, and ye've never seen  
that you's loved Jareth, or that he's loved you! Now it's too late, an' all on account o'yer  
stupidity! I's not subjugatin' meself to this anymore!" And with a huff, Hoggle faded from the  
mirror.  
  
Sarah just stared at where her friend had been. Did she-? She gasped when she realized  
what Hoggle said was true. And if Hoggle was honest about Jareth... Ye gods! But what did he  
mean, it was too late? She hurriedly whispered to the mirror.   
  
"Sir Didymus? Are you there?"  
  
Slowly, almost reluctantly, the fox-knight appeared. Sarah looked at him hopefully, but  
when he spoke, his voice was cold.  
  
"Milady, I must agree with Sir Hoggle. Fare the well." And with that, he faded away. Sarah grew  
frantic.  
  
"Ludo, Ludo, please! Tell me you haven't left me too!" The monster didn't appear, but she could  
hear his voice echoing.  
  
"Sawah...wong. Bad Sawah." In tears, and desperation, Sarah called to the last person she could  
think of. The only person she had never called before.  
  
"Jareth, Jareth, what's happening?" She spun around when she heard his voice behind her.  
  
"How pleasant to see you again, my dear." He smirked at the look on her face. "What's wrong?"  
  
Sarah could not stop crying at her friends' betrayal. "What has happened? Why are they all  
leaving me?" The Goblin King just smiled at her mockingly.  
  
"You would think that you had grown out of your childish fantasies by now, Sarah. I suppose  
they are leaving you because you have disappointed them. Such a pity."  
  
"How- how have I disappointed them? What has made them hate me so suddenly?"  
  
"I assume it is the fact that I'm getting married." Sarah's jaw dropped.  
  
"What has that to do with me?"  
  
Jareth smiled cruelly. "Absolutely nothing." With those words, the fragile hopes that Sarah  
had built from Hoggle's words were shattered, along with her heart. Jareth noted this, and twisted  
the blade deeper. "The fact that it has nothing to do with you is what has them angry." He  
caressed her cheek. "Ah, what might have been, Sarah. You could have been my queen."  
  
"I had to save my brother. What did you expect me to do?" She turned her eyes away from his.  
  
"You've never understood, have you, Sarah? You still think it was about your baby brother." He  
clicked his tongue, his tone disgusted. He let her chin drop from his hand. "'Ah, what fools these  
mortals be.' The wisest words any of your kind have ever said. It was never about your brother,  
Sarah, it was about you.  
  
Being king, I was given one chance to wed for love, instead of politics. I took that chance two  
years ago. Having loved a mortal, she had to prove her worth to the other Fae. You may have  
beaten my Labyrinth, Sarah, but you lost the game."  
  
Sarah stared at him, wonder turned to regret. "I would have given into you, had my  
brother not been at risk." Jareth scowled.  
  
"Foolish child. Your brother never was at risk."  
  
"How was I to know that?" Her pain turned to anger. "What kind of queen were your kind  
looking for, if she were willing to sacrifice her family for her dreams? Was I supposed to be  
selfish?" Jareth stared at her stonily.  
  
"You were obviously not the right kind of queen. That mistake was not made, thankfully. Now, I  
am to be wed, whether or not my subjects approve of my choice."  
  
Sarah sat down, not realizing that she had risen. She sighed in defeat, and pain. She  
looked back up to the King, barely meeting his eyes. "Is there nothing I can do?" The expression  
on his face was indecipherable.  
  
"Nothing at all."   
  
Stifling a sob, Sarah raised her chin a notch higher. "Then I guess this is good-bye."  
  
"Good-bye." Jareth turned to leave.  
  
"Wait!" Sarah held her hand out, pleadingly. The Goblin King slowly turned back to her. "Kiss me  
once, for old time's sake." He smirked.  
  
"We never kissed in the 'old times'."  
  
"Then kiss me, for what might have been." Jareth smiled coldly, then swooped in to claim her lips.  
In that kiss, Sarah discovered what all she had lost, what all would never be hers. As he lifted her  
lips from her, she whispered softly, "If only I had known."  
  
"If only..." Jareth responded, smirking at her.  
  
Closing her eyes, Sarah spoke. "I wish the goblins would come and take me away, right  
now." She opened her eyes to see Jareth glaring at her. She could hear snickers all of the room,  
and could feel small hands reaching out to her.  
  
"Stupid child! Stop that, you pests, leave!" The goblins silenced and acquiesced. Jareth turned his  
gaze back to Sarah. "Do you realize what you wish, child?"  
  
Her head hanging, Sarah admitted her defeat. "I- I can't live without you." Cruel laughter  
followed that remark.  
  
"And you won't be able to live with me, either. Such a pity." Sarah could not lift her head. Jareth  
snatched her under her chin and lifted it for her. "You will remain in my world, forever. You will  
experience everything my subjects do. And you will be shunned by them all, for turning me down.  
As I have mentioned, they do not like my new choice." He grinned mockingly. "And you will  
learn of everything that I do. My marriage, the birth of my heirs... everything." He shook his head.  
"Once I said you were cruel, Sarah. But you have changed. This- masochistic cruelty of yours  
does not appeal to me. So you are off, Sarah, to live in the Underground, alone for eternity."   
  
A crystal shattered, and Sarah looked around. The hovel was filthy, and she supposed that  
if she were to live there, she would need it to be a bit neater. She wiped her eyes and started  
tidying. Her new life had just begun.  
  
  
  
**A/N: Yikes. Tell me if y'all want me to continue. Personally I feel like flaming myself. I'll go  
take a bath in the BOES, so excuse me. *shakes her head* The first inspiration I have in a long  
time, and my muse makes it something mean. Do y'all want to know what happens? *shivers  
unhappily* I'm not sure I want to. Well, R/R anyway. I might continue, just because this is all that  
my muse has on my plate right now. 


	3. A Sign

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me. The Labyrinth belongs to the Almighty, Jim Henson. Or  
whatever company. Talis belongs to herself, she just visits me to tell me stories.  
  
Rating: PG-13 was a good guess. Language and a lifestyle that some may not agree with.  
  
A/N: Feeling really good about the reviews, I summoned Talis last night to tell me what happened  
next. (They characters occasionally let me play God... it amuses them. I know they mock me  
behind my back.) I was glad to see that it took the turn it did, I was getting quite depressed. I  
don't know how they work around it...well, I'll just let you read, and you'll know what I'm  
talking about. Oh, and please R/R. If you don't understand something, I'll explain it the best I  
can. I'm afraid to take any of it to Talis, I know better than to question what she says.  
  
~*~  
So Cruel  
Chapter Two  
~*~  
  
Jareth sat on his throne, spinning his crystals. His mind touched briefly on Sarah– if he  
were the type for revenge, the situation was perfect. But he had more important things to worry  
about. He was awaiting the arrival of his future queen.  
A brief movement drew his attention to the balcony. There she stood, in all her red-headed  
glory. Her back was to him; he could picture her grey eyes studying the sunset.  
On swift but silent feet he approached her, and wrapped a lock of hair around his  
forefinger. He rubbed it with his thumb, and chuckled softly. She turned to face him.  
  
"Ah, Talis. You are a most amusing contradiction. Hair as bright as the hottest fire," he paused,  
gaze shifting to meet hers, tone changing from complimentary to mocking. He leaned in, his warm  
breath brushing her ear. "Eyes as cold as the loneliest night."  
  
When she spoke, her voice matched her appearance; seemingly warm, but laced with ice.  
Her tone rivaled the King's in sarcasm. "Greetings, Goblin..." She paused long enough to make  
the term insulting, then continued, "King. Your amusement is odd, coming from one of a race that  
prides itself on ambiguity."  
  
His tone was amused, but his face was not. "You seem pleased to see me."  
  
"Fool yourself not. You force me into an unwanted marriage. My mother is not pleased."  
  
"I did not assume she would be. Athena does not strike me as the type that would approve. But it  
is in your best interests, after all. Bear my heirs, keep your lover." He drew out the last word, then  
continued, his voice malicious in its nonchalance. "Your lover would not be accepted elsewhere  
anyway. This way, at least, you can keep her." The woman did not respond. "How did your  
mother end up with you anyway? You have a lot in common. I don't recall a man in her life,  
either."  
  
The woman finally gave some ground to the man's probing. "You know little of my  
culture, then. If you had any knowledge, you would realize that stranger things have happened.  
How do you suppose my mother come about?"  
  
Jareth grinned mockingly. "Her father swallowed her mother."  
  
"And Hephaestus?"  
  
"That ugly bastard?" Jareth laughed. "Hera probably slept with a ridiculously ugly mortal just to  
spite Zeus."  
  
"Hera should strike you down for that."  
  
"But I am not under her jurisdiction."  
  
"I would be grateful of that fact."  
  
"I thank the gods each day." Jareth's sarcastic remark was ignored.  
  
Talis turned away from him, shadows cast on her lovely features. "And how do you fare,  
King? Any... heart... troubles?"  
  
Jareth moved to stand beside her at the balcony. "I find it difficult to have troubles with  
something that doesn't exist."  
  
The fiery-headed goddess spun towards him, and placed a delicate hand upon his chest.  
"Are you so sure?" she asked softly. Had it not been entirely against her character, the King  
would have thought it a seduction.  
The small hand worked its way to his face, where cool fingers pressed against his temple.  
The woman stared into his eyes, until he was forced to look away, to prevent further exposure.  
  
"You still want her." The name was unspoken, but understood.  
  
"I have no desire for her."  
  
"Yet still you crave her." She paused, her fingers still absorbing his thoughts. He jerked away.  
"You want her to 'fear you, love you, do as you say...' She seems willing enough. What is the  
problem?"   
  
A piece of the man's control broke, and he conjured up a crystal, sending it to shatter  
against the wall. "It is too easy. Once it was interesting, a challenge!" He schooled his features,  
removing the passion from his tone. "Now, I find myself bored."  
  
"Yet still you are drawn. You claim to have no heart, but I have proved that false. You proclaim  
yourself to be cruel, yet you still grant her wishes."  
  
"She is no longer of interest to me."  
  
Had she been the prone to smiling, a relieved grin would have broken the ice of Talis's  
features. Perhaps this mortal was the key out of her unwanted marriage. Her voice was softer,  
though, when she spoke.   
  
"You have found your soul mate, as I have found mine. Neither of us will be satisfied with any  
other, present company included."  
  
"Our kingdom would be the greatest."  
  
"And neither of us would be happy. Go to your mortal for your heirs." She stopped, then added,  
as if an afterthought, "There have been stranger pairings."  
  
"She could not prove herself." His words were strong, proud. But his voice willed a different  
story be told.  
  
"She could not prove herself... or perhaps you could not prove yourself, Jareth?" The woman was  
gone, but her beautiful, mocking laughter echoed throughout the castle. 


	4. A Mother/Daughter Chat

Disclaimer: I do not own The Labyrinth, Greek Gods, or any of the characters that lie within. I  
own nothing in this story, since the characters are the real owners. So don't bug me.  
  
Rating: PG-13. Why not? I could say NC-17, and that wouldn't stop anyone anyway. In fact,  
more people would probably read it if I put that rating on it.  
  
A/N: Sorry for the wait, you guys. Characters and muse have been unwilling to cooperate. I love  
them all dearly, but I'm afraid the feeling is not quite mutual. They tend to treat me as one would  
an older sibling. *sighs irritably* Oh well, a couple of them decided to help out, so a BIG thank  
you to Athena and Talis. And all of you reviewers and those who have actually been waiting for  
this story. Also, some of this is subject to change at a later date. Sarah wasn't too willing to chat,  
so I had to wing it with her part.   
  
~*~  
So Cruel  
Chapter Three  
~*~  
  
Mount Olympus was silent. The gods and goddesses were resting, all save two.  
  
"This mortal seems like my only chance out of this marriage, Mother. But," Talis paused here,  
nearly choking on the word, "my intended– is terribly hard-headed about his feelings for the girl.  
I'm trying to influence him, but it's not working." She shook her head angrily. "He was right  
when he said none of us had jurisdiction over him. He's the only one who can back out of this  
contract. I, unfortunately, must bow to Zeus' whims!"  
  
Athena sympathized with her daughter, and was grateful her father had never forced her to  
marry. She put a calming arm around her daughter. "He only wants to do what is best for you,  
child."  
  
"Best for me?" Talis asked scornfully. "When has any god ever done something good for another?  
Prometheus was the last, and if it weren't for Heracles, he'd still be getting his liver ripped out. A  
punishment, might I add, of the Almighty Zeus', for doing 'what was best' for another."  
  
Athena could say nothing to that.  
  
"Mother, you will always be his favorite child, but he will never like me! I believe he's still  
suspicious as to my origins. I think Hephaestus left a bitter taste in Zeus' mouth, when it comes to  
'immaculate conceptions'." Talis felt like throwing herself back on the bed like a temperamental  
child. "And if that is not the reason, then he must liken me to the son, fated to overthrow him!  
You do remember why he swallowed your mother to begin with?"  
  
The elder goddess nodded, then stood from the settee where she had been perched next to  
her daughter. She crossed the room, keeping her back to the younger goddess. "You have to  
understand where he's coming from, Talis. In choosing a lover, there aren't many guidelines on  
gods and goddesses. That's why there are so many incestuous relationships amongst my siblings.  
Keeping the bloodlines pure, in a way. Your choosing a mortal was forgivable. Mortals are a  
weakness of Zeus, also. You also chose one of the same gender. That is also forgivable. There  
have been stranger pairings. Neither of two are recommended for gods and goddesses, but they  
are allowed. But you, daughter, broke the unspoken taboo of the gods. You chose a– Negro  
lover. That has never been done, for reasons beyond remembrance. Nevertheless, it is forbidden,  
even if noone speaks of it.  
  
"The first two qualities are forgivable, but the final one, it was like a slap in the face of Zeus. You  
have never been on good terms to begin with, so the third taboo, instead of making the other two  
qualities seem lesser, only compounded them, in Zeus' eyes."  
  
Talis was fairly fuming with rage. "Consider it a cruel trick of Aphrodite's, then. Don't  
assume I love Fallon just to spite Zeus!" Athena rushed back to her daughter's side.  
  
"Now, you know as well as I do that Aphrodite does not control all loves, and when it is a love  
she inspired, that love bears her mark. Yours is pure, unfueled by lust. And that, I believe, angers  
my father more." Athena smiled at her only child fondly. "You have thrown every rule that has  
been followed throughout the ages to the wind, and love where you love, the ways of the gods be  
damned. Personally, I approve of your choice. But I am not as powerful as my father, and  
regardless of whether or not I am his favorite child, as you called me earlier, he will not bend his  
will for me."  
  
The younger goddess bowed her head sadly. "I know, Mother. And I appreciate your  
approval, even if I have no one else's." She raised her chin proudly. "The opinions of others have  
never mattered much to me." At that, Athena laughed softly. Talis looked at her mother with sad  
eyes. "But what can I do?"  
  
A mischievous light graced the goddess of wisdom's eyes. "First, you give Fallon nectar  
and ambrosia." Talis's head jerked up at that, to stare at her mother incredulously. "That will  
make her one of us, and enable her able to help you. It will never do for you to visit the Goblin  
King's mortal, that's where Fallon comes in." Athena was smiling, and if Talis was the kind to  
smile, she would have been grinning ear to ear as her mother explained the plan.  
  
~*~  
  
Sarah occasionally wondered what had happened to her. She remembered the time where  
she had spirit, and a sense of justice. She remembered a time where some things just weren't fair.  
But now, she felt as if she deserved it all. A part of her mind still wanted to argue that, but she  
never let it. She just took what came at her, whether she truly deserved it or not.  
Her cottage was at the edge of the Fiery forest. She had attempted to clean it up the first  
couple weeks she lived there. But every day, when she awoke, it would be as dirty as the day she  
moved in, as if the filth itself revolted against her being in the Underground. Finally, she gave up  
on it.  
The cottage itself had three rooms, a kitchen, a bedroom, and what Sarah supposed was a  
living room, of sorts. There were fireplaces in both the kitchen and the living room. She figured  
that when– and if– the weather turned cold, she would sleep in the living room. The only furniture  
in the house was a bed– well, more of a cot; an old-fashioned stove; two small tables, one in the  
kitchen and the other in the living room; a night stand of sorts in the bedroom; and three chairs.   
Sarah decided that the King could have done worse by her. She certainly deserved it. Her  
cottage had a small well behind it, which was occasionally polluted by neighboring creatures, but  
always cleaned itself when she fetched some. She had been provided with some food, and  
discovered some in the nearby forest. She also found some quilts and unused cloth in one of the  
closets, along with needle and thread. She used this to make herself some halfway decent clothing.  
All and all, she wasn't doing too badly by herself, without any modern conveniences.  
But, she did have problems with the neighboring creatures, such as those who polluted her  
well. It seemed they all knew her, and hated her. She would be jeered at if she ventured to far  
beyond her house, and one day she had awoken to a horrible smell– some beings had thrown mud  
cakes at her house. The mud was courtesy of the Bog of Eternal Stench.  
She had managed to wash her house without getting any muck on herself, and eventually,  
the attacks on her person and her belongings began to flag. She admitted to herself that she was  
grateful; even if she deserved it, that didn't make it any more pleasant.  
If Sarah had to guess, she would say that she had lived in the Underground for somewhere  
around two months. She couldn't be sure, though, since time obviously ran differently there than  
on the Earth. She began to miss contact with others– well, friendly contact with others. As she sat  
in her kitchen one day, washing her clothing, she thought about this. It took a full quarter of an  
hour to realize that she had finished her washing, and that there was a black cat perched on her  
windowsill, looking at her curiously.  



End file.
